Pragmatism Is Not a Sign of Weakness
Michel Touma 25/11 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Fatah Hezbollah Israel Lebanese Forces Palestine Tehran
In late August 1982, Beirut bore witness to the aftermath of the Israeli Army's "Operation Peace for Galilee," initiated on June 6, 1982. Following the prolonged siege of the Lebanese capital, approximately 12,000 Palestinian fighters, including Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), alongside senior officials ...
The Overlooked Aspect of Lebanon's 1943 Independence
Michel Touma 22/11 11:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Hezbollah Independance National Pact
For many years, the Lebanese have marked the anniversary of November 22 with a sense of disillusionment, reflecting on the advanced state of decline of Lebanon’s independence, proclaimed in 1943. This feeling of bitterness has been exacerbated by a series of regional interventions, which have fostered a chronic climate of instability and discord ...
Enforcing Resolution 1701: Ending the Deception Game
Michel Touma 18/11 09:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Hezbollah South Lebanon United Nations 1701
During one of the early phases of the Lebanese war, Bachir Gemayel made a quip to journalists that, while tinged with sarcasm, offered a fundamentally sharp insight into an aspect of public life in the country. “Lebanon (before the war) was not so much a land of coexistence, but rather one of mutual deceit among its people,” he stated, with a ...
Trump’s Comeback and Fate of the Middle East
Michel Touma 11/11 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Donald Trump Middle East Tehran United States
Donald Trump's return to the White House, bolstered by a sweeping Republican victory in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, has sparked significant concern among some Western circles. These observers are uneasy about what they see as the newly elected president's overly “conservative” positions, particularly in terms of social ...
US Presidential Election: A Race Like No Other
Michel Touma 07/11 12:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Donald Trump Middle East Benjamin Netanyahu Republican
On the eve of the US presidential election, Walid Phares, former foreign affairs advisor to President Donald Trump, shared that a key aspect of the Republican candidate’s campaign strategy rested, beyond the strength of his electoral machine, on the spontaneous mobilization of a “popular wave” — an organic movement not necessarily guided ...
The Failure of a Project, Not of a Community
Michel Touma 04/11 10:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Accountability is seldom found in Lebanese political life, and this is largely understandable. The societal dynamics that shape Lebanon’s social fabric—specifically the entrenched communal, regional, familial, tribal, feudal and partisan loyalties—have consistently influenced the daily lives of its people. Consequently, it is extremely ...
War in the Middle East: Tackling the Root Cause
Michel Touma 28/10 11:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Middle East UN Security Council Iran
After more than three weeks of negotiations and intense discussions between Washington and Tel Aviv, Israel launched its response to the October 1 missile attack by the Islamic Republic of Iran. This response took place overnight Friday to Saturday, underscoring the Biden administration’s apparent reluctance to destabilize the Iranian ...
Middle East Conflict: Lebanon Seeks Relief
Michel Touma 21/10 11:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Few analysts and observers might recall that, during the peak of the Middle East conflict, the Arab League reached an agreement designating Lebanon as a country of support, distinct from the frontline states meant to confront Israel—namely Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Yet, as an Israeli leader once aptly noted, commitments made in this region often ...
Israel-Hezb: Breaking the Vicious Circle of Recurrent Wars
Michel Touma 14/10 11:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Lebanese Forces South Lebanon UN Security Council Nabih Berry
Only the truth hurts, as the saying goes. In the political sphere, it is often the uncomfortable truths that prevail. Recently tasked by Hezbollah to spearhead diplomatic negotiations with international powers, Nabih Berri—Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and leader of the Amal Movement—has emphasized that any resolution to the ...
Israel-Hezb: Between Moralistic Stance and Strategic Challenge
Michel Touma 11/10 14:06 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
South Lebanon Tehran UN Security Council
It could simply be media posturing, but the reality is that news outlets and social media networks continue to circulate reports of proposed truces or ceasefires. A halt to hostilities, or at least a pause in the ongoing military escalation, would certainly be timely — especially when considering the humanitarian crisis triggered by ...
The Israel-Hezbollah War: Facing the Reality
Michel Touma 07/10 10:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
For exactly one year, parts of the Middle East, specifically Gaza and Lebanon, have been enduring the devastating fallout of two military ventures that have become symbols of madness and destructive chaos. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a deadly assault on Israeli soil. The very next day, Hezbollah unilaterally reignited the southern Lebanon ...
Iran Proxies: Sheer Folly
Michel Touma 04/10 15:29 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Bitterness, dismay, anger, and depression... The deep resentment often voiced publicly by Hezbollah supporters reflects the tragedy into which the pro-Iranian party forced Lebanon, against the country's will, a year ago. The Lebanese are acutely aware of being left to face the overwhelming Israeli war machine on their own. While this is not the ...
Editorial – At the Shiite Crossroads
Michel Touma 30/09 14:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
While the formula may seem outdated or overly simplistic, it is often employed to highlight pivotal moments in history and significant shifts. The “before” and “after” of September 27, 2024, is poised to reshape the geopolitical landscape, particularly for Shiite communities. The significance of Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination ...
Editorial: Southern Suburbs – A Tragic Turning Point
Michel Touma 28/09 12:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Speculations, some of them starkly explicit, have been circulating widely in the media and across social networks. Yet, few could have anticipated the staggering events that unfolded on the night of Friday, September 27, and into the early hours of Saturday. No one could have foreseen the brutal and devastating bombardment of Hezbollah’s central ...
Editorial – Lebanon and Regional Powers: A History of Alienation
Michel Touma 25/09 10:38 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
To summarize and provide the proper context for recent developments: On October 8, 2023, following Hamas' deadly attack on Israel, Hezbollah reignited the southern Lebanon front, which had been perfectly calm since August 2006. The stated reason for this unilateral move, taken against the will of a vast majority of the Lebanese people, was ...
Editorial – Israel vs. Hezbollah: Supremacy’s Weight
Michel Touma 23/09 12:53 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Following the humiliating defeat of the Arab armies in the Six-Day War of June 1967, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser attributed the losses of Egypt, Jordan and Syria to Israel’s air supremacy. Since then, over the course of more than half a century, this air supremacy has grown exponentially, while Arab military capabilities have ...
The 17 September Attack: Taking the War to Another Dimension
Michel Touma 18/09 11:17 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
An unprecedented strike that will surely be etched into the global history of warfare and precision-targeted military operations. The Israeli attack on 17 September likely involved electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) targeting the pagers used by Hezbollah's top leaders and elite fighters. The coordinated detonation of thousands of these devices across ...
Editorial – Moussaoui's Succinct Phrase: Laying All the Cards on the Table
Michel Touma 16/09 13:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The strategy of gradual encroachment, aimed at progressively undermining, step by step, the various mechanisms of the State and the country's politico-communal framework… This is the unapologetic and ongoing approach adopted by Hezbollah. The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Rai, succinctly captured this reality in his Sunday sermon ...
Editorial- The Warlike Rhetoric of the Iranian Axis : An Empty Shell
Michel Touma 09/09 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
“There's many a slip between the cup and the lip” … Without indulging into misplaced cynicism, this old French proverb captures perfectly the political-military quagmire in which Hezbollah and its regional “sponsor” have long been entrenched. Both players, highly active on the Middle Eastern stage—and at times far beyond—consistently ...
Editorial - Iran: A Telltale Sign
Michel Touma 02/09 11:09 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
This piece of information almost slipped under the radar… Yet, it holds significant symbolic value and could indicate a recent political shift in Iran. On August 27, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that he was withdrawing his resignation from his position as Vice-President for Strategic Affairs. He had been ...
Moussa Sadr: The Charismatic Father of the Shia Awakening
Michel Touma 31/08 10:48 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
The Libyan capital, August 25, 1978: Imam Moussa Sadr, the spiritual leader of the Lebanese Shia community and President of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council (SISC), along with two of his close associates Sheikh Mohammad Yacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine, arrived in Libya at the invitation of then-leader Colonel Moammar Gaddafi. On August 31, ...
Editorial – Political Behavior and the Realities of Lebanon
Michel Touma 26/08 10:17 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
In his book Lebanon and the Surrounding Countries, the renowned historian Jawad Boulos—who played a key role in the Lebanese Front, a sovereignty-oriented group during the early stages of the war—argues that geography and the natural environment are fundamental factors in shaping the history of a nation. With the dramatic advancements ...
Editorial- Israel/Iran: Tehran's Bluff
Michel Touma 19/08 10:27 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
In his famous work The Art of War, widely regarded as the oldest document on military strategy, the Chinese general Sun Tzu (6th century B.C.) explains that one can gain an upper hand over an enemy and win a battle without engaging in direct combat. This strategy involves tactics such as displays of force, deception, bluffing, or psychological ...
Editorial – August 4: Lebanon Held Hostage, for Whom and for What?
Michel Touma 05/08 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Four years have passed since the massive explosion at the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020. The investigation remains stalled, as judges are unable to finalize it due to ongoing and barely concealed pressure and threats from Hezbollah. The August 4 apocalyptic explosion is one of the deadliest and most abhorrent examples of the systematic ...
Editorial – Iran's Expansionism and Collateral Damage
Michel Touma 29/07 10:07 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Another massacre, another senseless tragedy. This time, it’s the innocent lives of twelve children and teenagers that have been claimed by a missile strike in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Golan Heights under Israeli sovereignty. They were participating in, or merely watching, a soccer match. This horrific event underscores the ...
Fred’s Spirit
Michel Touma 26/07 10:02 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The inception of Ici Beyrouth, along with the unique concept of this young media outlet, are inextricably linked to the lasting impact of Frédéric Domont. From its very beginning, he infused his vision into this venture, which started from scratch and swiftly became a prominent presence in the media landscape in less than three ...
Editorial – Middle East Escalation: Foolishness Reigns
Michel Touma 22/07 11:52 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The foolishness strategy is in full swing in the region—more than ever. On the night of July 17, the Israeli Knesset quietly passed a resolution rejecting the creation of a Palestinian State… This insidious move undermines the Biden administration just as it prepares to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. American leaders are ...
Editorial – A World Adrift
Michel Touma 15/07 12:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
“The world is (really) going to the dogs.” This brief, laconic reflection, expressed in an online post, is likely to become a common refrain on social networks. It alludes to a series of serious, historically significant events that are unfolding at an alarming pace in a feverish and deadly atmosphere all around the globe. The assassination ...
Editorial – Pezeshkian's Election: A Mere Facade?
Michel Touma 07/07 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The election of the so-called “moderate” candidate Massoud Pezeshkian to the presidency of Iran on Friday is not a major surprise. The fact that his candidacy was approved this time by the central authorities, after being rejected in the 2021 presidential election, suggested that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali ...
Editorial- Iranian Presidency: Telling Indicators
Michel Touma 30/06 14:12 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
An election with little strategic significance, but undeniable symbolic importance... The presidential election held in Iran on Friday to choose a successor to Ebrahim Raisi, who died on May 19 in a helicopter crash while returning from Azerbaijan, has led to a runoff between the moderate reformist candidate, Massoud Pezeshkian, and the ...